There are days in
every goaltenderís life that things simply donít go well. Some games
you canít stop a beach ball or you keep getting beat in the same
spot (top shelf, 5 Hole etc.). Knowing that these days will
occasionally rear their ugly head, the question is ĎWhat are you
going to do about it?í Too often, I see goalies have major meltdowns
that take their team out of their game and get the opposition
excited because they see the goalie losing his or her cool. Now Iím
not going to say you should enjoy stinking the joint out, but how
you handle it says a lot about your character. Whether itís your
teammates, your coaches, the opposing team, fans or scouts, everyone
is watching how you react when things arenít going well. What can
you do to minimize the damage when you are clearly not on your ďAĒ
game?

Here is some ďfood for thoughtĒ when you
are faced with a tough night in the crease:

*Breathe!
Yeah, I know this should be obvious, but when you get stressed-out,
you tend to shorten your breaths and thatís simply not good for you
physically or mentally. In the NHL, you often see goalies grab a
water bottle or take a little stroll. Being scored upon doesnít
immediately make them thirsty or desiring a trip to the corner of
the rink, but it gives them a chance to relax their mind for a
moment while the crowd is going crazy. This drink or stroll quiets
the mind so the goalie can re-focus and move on mentally from the
goal that just went in. Remember, the goal is now history and you
canít change it. You have to be ready for the next series of
offensive attacks. A distracted mind is the enemy of every goalie.
Post-game you can analyze what happened, but not in-game!

*Make Needed Adjustments.
Even though you donít want to analyze each goal while you are
playing, you still need to be aware as to why certain shots or plays
are giving you difficulty. You must be a good enough student of the
game to sense what adjustments you need to make. For example, in a
Stanley Cup playoff game I saw Jimmy Howard of the Red Wings get
sniped on a top shelf glove shot from a Phoenix Coyote at the bottom
of the left face-off circle. Moments later another Coyote took the
same shot from the same spot daring Jimmy Howard to make the save.
Howard made an adjustment by positioning his glove a little more
ahead of his body than the play before and he turned his wrist
slightly downward to match the trajectory of the sharply rising
puck. This resulted in a nice, clean glove save. This adjustment
prevented another similar goal from happening. Often times I
observed similar scenarios at the youth, high school and college
levels but the goalies donít make an adjustment. They get mad when a
couple of similar goals go in, but fail to do anything in their
decision making or techniques to change future results. Itís okay to
be mad for a moment, but you also need awareness skills to
understand what you need to do to prevent future goals from
happening in the game. You must remain objective during a game even
if your emotions may get in the way.

*Break the Game Down Into Smaller Segments.
When you are not playing well, the play clock moves excruciatingly
slow. When youíre playing well, the game flies by. When you are not
playing well, you get easily distracted. When you are playing well,
you have tunnel vision and see the game in slow motion in front of
you. A fifteen or twenty minute period can be an eternity so try
concentrating for 5 minutes at a time. This is more manageable and
makes the game easier to focus on.

*Communicate!
When you are verbally active with your teammates, you are mentally
active as well. Good concentration is a natural byproduct of being
verbally active. If you are silent, you tend to be a spectator.
Being active verbally and with a positive body language can
sometimes turn around your game on a night when you are not on.
Keeping your brain active makes you physically active. When you are
mentally quiet, you tend to play more passively.

*Be Consistent With Details! If you always challenge shooters, maintain a
good stance and are consistent with your save techniques, you wonít
have many bad games, just bad moments. When a goalie isnít playing
well, it often comes down to sloppiness in techniques and decision
making. Every time you step between the pipes try to maintain good
habits so your game doesnít experience highs and lows. Eliminate
unnecessary scoring chances by freezing loose pucks or clearing them
away. Slumps usually begin when goalies stop paying attention to the
little things! I canít tell you how many sloppy practice goalies
tell me that they are ďgame goaliesĒ and can turn their game on when
they need to. Yeah, rightÖÖ (insert major eye roll here!!!)

*Donít Force Saves.
What worked on one breakaway wonít necessarily work on the next one.
When faced with one on ones, two on ones and three on twos one type
of save wonít fit all. If you read plays correctly you will have a
good chance to stop the puck. If you make poor choices or donít pay
any attention to key details (like left shot/right shot options,
where your D are positioned or the speed of the opposition), you may
guess on saves and look really bad doing it.

*Know What You Can Control and What You Canít!
If you have challenged a shooter well and the player makes a great
move and beats you with a pin-point accurate shot, sometimes you
just have to tip your hat and say ďNice GoalĒ and let it go. Thatís
hockey! However, if you went down first, got caught with your glove
resting on your pad or sat your butt on your legs while making a
butterfly, those are details you can control. Being sloppy can be
corrected. Having a great head to head battle with a shooter and
occasionally losing one to a talented player is what makes the
position so much fun. Donít beat yourself up if a great player makes
a great play. Make adjustments when you get sloppy and give a goal
away. There is a difference between the two situations and you need
to know the game well enough to tell the difference.